There are strong rumors in the hockey blogosphere that there might be an NHL Outdoor Game coming to our fair city of Los Angeles next year.

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As you might have heard, there are strong rumors in the hockey blogosphere that there might be an NHL Outdoor Game coming to our fair city of Los Angeles next year. In what John Hoven from Mayor's Manor has deemed the "Hollywood Classic", the Anaheim Ducks will allegedly take on the Los Angeles Kings on the night of January 25th, 2014. I don't know about you guys... but I'm a little worried about what happened the last time the LA Kings played at Dodger Stadium.

Anyone who became a LA Kings fan last season
should be forced to watch this video on a loop.

But is Dodger Stadium the best place to showcase the beauty and splendor of the great city of Los Angeles? Don't get me wrong... I love going to baseball games at Dodger Stadium. You are surrounded by hills and trees and it helps you escape the hustle and bustle of the city... but I'm a little worried it may not be the best way for the TV viewer at home to experience Los Angeles. So with that in mind, we here at The Royal Half have come up with The 5 Best Alternative Locations for the LA Kings Outdoor Game!!!

5) THE BEACH

Every good Canadian kid grows up playing hockey in his backyard. So since most of the professional athletes that play in Los Angeles live down by the beach... how great would it be for them to wake up one morning, roll out of bed... and play professional hockey! My only worry about this particular location is that it's been done before... and it's been done well.

And besides... a NHL game played at the North End Bar & Grill would give fans everywhere a chance to use the classic line...

"I went to a bar fight and a hockey game broke out!"

3) THE OSCARS

The 2014 Oscars are on March 2nd, so the NHL might consider pushing the date of the LA Kings Outdoor Game a few weeks so they can take advantage of the spotlight that will already be on Hollywood. The best part about having the LA Outdoor Game on the Oscars Red Carpet is that most of the current LA Kings roster has more outdoor red carpet experience than outdoor game experience. So the players should feel comfortable in this element.

2) THE FREEWAY

For years, the people at Fox Sports West have been trying to create a freeway-based rivalry between the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings. And since it takes nearly 3 hours to play a hockey game and 3 hours to drive from LA to Orange County on any given night... why not just combine the two! Plus, it could give an opportunity for recent healthy scratch, Dustin Penner, to help support his teammates. And from the looks of it... Fox Sports West has already revealed their logo for the LA Winter Classic.

If the point of giving a NHL Outdoor Game to Southern California is to reward the patient LA Kings fans for their years of dedication to this franchise... then there is no better symbol of frustrated LA Kings fans than the parking lot at their former home arena, the Great Western Forum. And by "frustrated LA Kings fans" of course I'm referring to the amount of time it took to exit the parking lot after a LA Kings game at the Forum. Plus, it would give the LA Kings Marketing Department a chance to get this billboard out of storage.

The Royal Half has been a Los Angeles Kings fan since 1988 and a Half-Season Ticket Holder since 2002. He has seen the following goaltenders play in person for the Los Angeles Kings… Kelly Hrudey, Grant Fuhr, Byron Dafoe, Jamie Storr, Stephane Fiset, Felix Potvin, Cristobal Huet, Roman Cechmanek, Mathieu Garon, Adam Hauser, Jason LaBarbera, Barry Brust, Sean Burke, Dan Cloutier, Yutaka Fukufuji, Jean-Sebastien Aubin, Erik Ersberg, Jonathan Bernier and Jonathan Quick. If you like the hockey equivalent of dirty jokes or enjoy humorous screen-grabs of NHL players and broadcasters with funny captions... man, you are going to like The Royal Half. You can follow The Royal Half on Twitter at @TheRoyalHal